Farmer organisations (FOs) in Africa play a dual role: as platforms for collective action and advocacy, and as commercial actors generating revenues through input supply, storage, and marketing. Yet many struggle to achieve economic viability, hampered by governance weaknesses, volatile markets, and dependence on donor support.

This learning brief, written by Jaap Voeten, Fresnelle Houéfa Mardyle Ahouangbenon and Mathias Dotou Ahounou, examines how FOs can be more effectively supported to become economically sustainable, drawing on lessons from the ACMA program in Benin — a multi-year agricultural development initiative implemented by KIT, IFDC, and CARE International, funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The ACMA program invested in storage infrastructure for FOs across Benin, supported by a one-year coaching initiative launched in 2024. Evaluation of this coaching revealed three recurring challenges: ambiguity over ownership between municipalities and FOs; passive, committee-driven management; and a persistent shortage of entrepreneurial leadership within collective structures.

Two cases from the program demonstrate that where entrepreneurial leadership did emerge — whether through institutional co-management arrangements or individual initiative — FOs were able to achieve economic viability. These cases point to a broader lesson: transforming FOs into commercially sustainable entities requires not only improvements in governance and technical capacity, but deliberate investment in entrepreneurial leadership and, where appropriate, structured partnerships with the private sector.